MKTG804 E-Business Marketing Paper Editing Services

Introduction

First store of Coles was opened in Collingwood, Melbourne in the year of 1914, and now has grown to an idol Australian retailer. Presently, it is operating in the numerous areas like Coles Supermarkets, Coles Liquor, Coles Express, Vintage Cellars, Liquor Market, Coles Online, Spirit Hotels, and Coles Financial Economic Services (referred as CFS). Moreover, during March 2018, Wesfarmers has announced its target to demerge Coles and this demerger will be most likely completed in November 2018, covering all shareholder as well as other legal approvals [ CITATION Wes18 \l 16393 ].

Being a nationwide whole services supermarket retailer, Coles is currently operating around 801 supermarkets. Coles is having a rich quality and business history in Australia market. At present, Coles aiming to provide a shop which is trustworthy, delivering benchmark quality, and valued services to the Australian public. Coming to the digital technological innovation area, Coles Online is an online accessible supermarket which can be logged in by the customers anytime to purchase grocery items. Moreover, all purchased orders are delivered by the store drivers in heat-controlled vans by specified time to all zones in all states and regions of Australia [ CITATION Wes18 \l 16393 ]. Coles is having a private alliance agreement with Shell, and CFS is bringing ordinary products like credit cards and insurance to the Australian families.

Source: [ CITATION Sal18 \l 16393 ]

The bright future of the Coles retail store

Retail store market overview

Coles has created its everyday value hence customers love the price, quality, taste, and wide range of Coles Brand products. The Coles always keep looking to create new tasty products for Australian public to purchase at nice prices. Coles Brand products provide great quality value and are reliably out-performing production tests. During year of 2017, Coles Brand won 51 industry awards for various criteria [ CITATION Elm18 \l 16393 ].

Coles is active in lowering the prices of the famous products which Australians purchase the most. Through recent price drops means in 2017, Coles enabled its customers to save more on their favourite products from the supermarket.

Being an Australia’s top foodstuff retailer, the firm always focused on supplying a market-leading garden-fresh offering for their customers. The company is working hard with their suppliers, to confirm that whether they are continuously improving the quality and accessibility of fresh food products [ CITATION Cha17 \l 16393 ].

Retail stores network

To become top supermarket brand, Coles is continuously improving its store network across all brands to provide better, easier and simpler shopping experience for customers.

During May 2017, Coles Express has opened its 700th store in Cairns, Queensland. By introducing ‘Quiet Hour’ approach Coles is improving its retail stores effectiveness for customers [ CITATION KPM18 \l 16393 ].

After around a century, on 21 June 2017, Coles opened its 800^th store in Aurora Village Shopping Centre and its 801^st store in Western Australia. More than hundred new professional members were also gave employment at each above store. Moreover, new stores opening across the whole country will create huge employment opportunities and enhanced chances of investing in local communities. Coles is continuously investing in creating value, better quality, and availability for customers through a store network of above 800 supermarkets, around 107,000 team professionals and over 21 million consumer transactions per week [ CITATION Wes18 \l 16393 ].

Need ofE-business strategy

The Coles is splitting out and demerger is on the way and consistently creating novel customer areas to provide more relevant digital marketing and for that website personalisation is well underway. Still, there are various hurdles the trade has yet to solve in area of digital transformation, both customer-facing and internally within the company. The company is having an efficient team to look at its digital market transformation [ CITATION Bar13 \l 16393 ].

The Coles stores are earning and growing day-by day increasingly because customers prefer to shop offline from physical stores due to their sensory experience. Sensory experience is the feel and touch sense by the customers when shop from offline retail stores. Results from several studies say that bricks and mortar stores won in all stages in terms of revenue generation from sales market. Still, as Coles is doing very good in sales and retail industry presently, hence it will undoubtedly become one of the top supermarkets of the world soon. Therefore, in order to survive in the retail as well as e-business marketplace and compete with the top brands of sales market, it is mandatory to upgrade in all aspects of the business. As the requirement graph of the consumers is changing towards digital technological comfort hence being an exclusive food brand of Australian market the Coles need to go with the flow of consumer need changes. In order to implement these changes, Coles has launched the new app in the last year to facilitate customers with an efficient and personal shopping tool. This user friendly interface was designed to create an easy and innovative shopping experience for each and every one [ CITATION Bar04 \l 16393 ].

Although the future of the retail industry lies solidly in the brick and mortar channels yet to ensure a sustainable future in all current functioning industries, Coles need to focus on accessibility. Whenever any assistance, product or any kind of help is needed by the customers of the Coles, then there should be no communication gap in between the firm and the customers. Therefore, Coles is continuously over the accessibility of the stores, workplaces, production sites and digital platforms for professional members and consumers with or without disabilities [ CITATION Bur00 \l 16393 ].

The key need of enhancing digital platforms and e-business websites, digital feedback surveys, campaigns is to ensure that all brand products and services are accessible to a broad range of users nationwide or worldwide [ CITATION Den02 \l 16393 ].

Other areas to be supervised

One Billion dollars was recently invested into creating new retail stores and redeveloping present stores all around the nation.  Because of the size and volume of the supermarkets, being quite large, the appropriate machinery must be ensured by the Coles for the effective running of all stores. Moreover, the latest supermarket design that Coles adopted in the year 2017, containing a Deli as well as a Bakery, hence new machinery is required to supply to the new design. The required machinery includes: Forklifts, Deli slicers, Surveillance cameras, Trolleys for customers, Ovens and cash registers [ CITATION Sup13 \l 16393 ].

The Future of Retail of Coles through internet technologies

Building an EEE (referred as effective and efficient e-commerce) operation is challenging, but evolving a retail stores network of hundreds or thousands of physical stores are even more difficult comparatively. But it is a growing threat. Conversely, E-retailers are attracting shoppers towards online-stores by skipping the physical stores through quicker and cheaper delivery, mobile apps and websites. Moreover, customers even can install physical buttons at their residences to re-order daily household products with only one push on that device [ CITATION Doo03 \l 16393 ].

Therefore, retailers need to adapt the bricks and mortar stores to stay updated, relevant and to compete with online retailers. The fact is that we live in a dynamic world of numerous users, which are busier these days in earning more and more money, reputation, better lifestyle and life-balance. Hence they are running with less time to spend to stand in queue, crowded physical stores [ CITATION Gol05 \l 16393 ]. These are some business strategies recommended to famous brand retail stores of Australian consumer markets, while putting ‘e’ in their business:

1. By providing better shopping experience offline as well as on online portals
2. By providing user-friendly store app
3. During e-business, careful steps to be adopted are: providing fast acknowledgement of purchase, advance shipping notice, valid e-invoice, discrepancy memo, real feedbacks and advice survey.
4. Attractive online promotion to seduce customers for product buying
5. Customized promotions for target audiences through online technologies
6. Creating strong links with other top organizations through e-business
7. Motivate customer participation and online advertising through new technologies

Thus, by introducing internet technology in product strategic pricing, billing, finding place to purchase, and to strengthen customer relationships, they can be used to enhance business online and compete e-retailers of same kind of products [ CITATION Sim12 \l 16393 ].

Source: [ CITATION Sal18 \l 16393 ]

Coles online

The Coles opened its first ‘Coles Online’ supermarket in the Financial Year of 2016, with a twenty five per cent increase in sales added with customer convenience, product quality and a wider range. The Online Supermarket was designed to enhance the customer satisfaction and quick delivery of online shopping. Coles Online has also added a ‘Same Day Delivery’ option, to establish Coles’ position as a trustworthy e-grocery service provider [ CITATION The16 \l 16393 ].

Coles Liquor introduced ‘Liquor on demand’ in the year of 2016 in the evening and weekend delivery time windows within metro zones. In that offer, customers of First Choice and Vintage Cellars can choose to have liquor delivered to their homes, also including flexibility of next-day, same-day, and evening as well as Saturday [ CITATION Elm18 \l 16393 ].

Conclusions and recommendations

The discussion about future of retail stores came to a conclusion that conventional retailers must pick the best places for their physical stores, find the optimal number of places for every market, according to the customer expectations and get better at e-commerce approaches. Therefore, instead of intending solely on single channel of bricks stores, retailers require to focus on optimizing their retail stores portfolios, while at the same time improving their effective online presence. Additionally, Coles retail must adjust the viewpoint through which they see the value of physical stores. In reality, this way of unique thinking will improve retailers’ perception of about what is actually happening and what is desirable.

The Coles stores should provide assistance to all customers regardless of transaction takes place or not. As the customers may visit stores to explore new products and try ones they have seen online. While Brick and mortar stores grab sales, additionally they generate value through driving online sales. This means that the value of a bricks store is great for both customers and due to the sales captured by them. On the other hand, to sustain business growth and competition with great business tycoons of the area as well as to serve consumers according to their key needs, strategic e-business is mandatory to implement by the Coles.

Thus, same as customer purchasing, shopping behaviour has evolved retailers way to sale and value requirements must evolve as well.

References

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